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The glorious inheritance of the ministers

At that time the heads of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the tribes of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.” So the Israelites gave to the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance, as the LORD had commanded.

The lot was cast for the Kohathites: The Levitical priests, the descendants of Aaron, received by lot thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The rest of the Kohathites received by lot ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh. The Gershonites received by lot thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. The Merariites, by their clans, received by lot twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. The Israelites gave these cities and their suburbs to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, the following cities were given to the descendants of Aaron, of the Kohathite clan, of the tribe of Levi, because the first lot fell to them: Kiriath Arba in the hill country of Judah with its surrounding pasturelands (Arba is the father of the Anakites). (Kiriath Arba is Hebron.) But the fields and villages of the cities were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.

To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands; and Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, Horon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities in all, from these two tribes.

From the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs, Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs, four cities. The priests of Aaron had thirteen cities with their suburbs. The rest of the Kohathites, the clans of the Levites, had cities allotted by lot from the tribe of Ephraim.

They gave them Shechem, a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim, with its suburbs, as a city of refuge for the manslayer, as well as Gezer with its suburbs, Gibzan with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs, four cities in all. They also gave them Eltekeh with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs, Aijalon with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs, four cities in all, from the tribe of Dan. They also gave them Taanach with its suburbs and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs, two cities in all, from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The rest of the Kohathites had ten cities with their suburbs. To the Gershonites of the tribe of Levi, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, with its suburbs; and Beshterah with its suburbs, two cities. From the tribe of Issachar, they gave Kishion with its suburbs, Daberah with its suburbs, Jarmuth with its suburbs, and En-Gannim with its suburbs, four cities in all.

From the tribe of Asher they gave Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs, four cities. 21:32 From the tribe of Naphtali they gave Kedesh in Galilee, a city of refuge for the manslayer, with its suburbs; Hammoth-dor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs, three cities.

The Gershonites received, by their clans, thirteen cities with their suburbs. The rest of the Levites, the descendants of Merari, received from the tribe of Zebulun Jokneam with its suburbs, Kartah with its suburbs, Dimnah with its suburbs, and Nahalal with its suburbs, four cities. From the tribe of Reuben they received Bezer with its suburbs, Jahaz with its suburbs, Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs, four cities. From the tribe of Gad they received Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, with its suburbs, Mahanaim with its suburbs, Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs, four cities.

The lot for the rest of the tribe of Levi, the descendants of Merari, according to their clans, was twelve cities. The total number of cities that the Levites received in the Israelites' inheritance was forty-eight with their surrounding pasturelands. Each city had its surrounding pasturelands all around it. (Joshua 21:1-21:42)

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